Thalia Grace
by ImogenxBiancaxAdam
Summary: Thalia Grace has hated her mother for a long time now and finally got the guts to runaway. Along the way she encounters tons of monsters and meets a few demigods too. Adventure-Friendship-Romance. Thaluke at the end.
1. My Mercedes Gets High Jacked

Chapter 1: My Mercedes Gets High Jacked

I grabbed my black duffel bags and stuffed my black hair brush, blue hair dye, some clothes, energy bars, and 4 bottles of water in them. I set a map of the East Coast, a map of Maine, a map of Augusta, and a map of Upton which was my hometown and the only town I've ever been to in my life on top of the bags. I had a feeling I was going to need it. Beep! My alarm rang on my neon green cell phone. It was time to go, it was 2 a.m. and my mother would still be sleeping. I snuck out of my room and ran down the long, narrow hallway to the back door. It was locked but someone – more like something – was knocking on it. I jumped and thought it was a robber. Slowly, I drew to curtain to see my puppy, Emma – my mom wouldn't let me name her Emo – pounding on the door with her long black tail. I let her in the house and walked outside.

Alright, before we get on with the story you need to learn more about my miserable life. I'm Thalia Grace, demigod daughter of Zeus. My mother, Thalia-May Grace is a very woman to everyone else _but_ me. As a demigod I sometimes attracted monsters so I wasn't accepted at my house. And well what can I say about my step father, Rob Carter? He was nice at first but after him and my mom got married and he learned our secret he hated me! My life wasn't always the best but in about three hours it would get a whole lot better.

Anyway, back to the story. I crept outside along the long metal fence to the gate. When I reached the gate it was locked and could only be opened from the other side where my mom and step dad hid the key. I pulled my two hunting knives and cut the chains of the lock on either side. The gate slid open and I instantly felt giant footsteps shake the ground. Instantly I knew what was about to be in my presence, it was a Minotaur.

It was pretty obvious to a half-blood that has fought every monster in the whole world of Greek mythology. Compared to most half-bloods I've had a terrible time. Most half-bloods get bombarded by monster by the time they're around twelve. Since my father is Zeus my scent is stronger and since my mother told me that I was a demigod when I was six that makes my scent even stronger. I don't think my mom knew how dangerous it was for me to know about this stuff.

Anyway, back to my story. Silently I crept into the woods and seen the giant footprints leading far into the forest. I got the feeling that the Minotaur was coming back. The ground shook some more and the step were getting louder and louder until it was there. It had been almost three years since I'd seen a Minotaur and I really didn't realize how big it was going to be once it found me. Minotaurs are basically a huge pile of dirt wearing bright white Fruit of the Loom underwear. Their not really dirt but pretty close considering they explode to dust when you stab them in the heart.

It didn't notice me at first because Minotaurs have really, really bad eyesight. When it did it let out a loud scream that was loud enough for all the mortals within about five miles should've heard it. Thank the gods for Mist. Mist is a powerful force that prevents any mortal (expect the "Clear Sighted" ones) to see monsters and magic. Before the Minotaur could turn me into a Thalia Pancake I charged forward and stabbed it in its big toe. It let out another scream and grabbed its foot and hopped up and down. The whole Earth seemed to shake and the force was so powerful I staggered backwards into a truck of a pine tree. Two pinecones fell down on impact and landed on my head.

"Ow!" I muttered. The Minotaur had stopped jumping and was looking for me.

"HEY UGLY, do you want to fight?" I screamed. The Minotaur turned its ugly head away from me and I took charge of the opportunity and climbed its foot and used its skin as a ladder. I made my way to the top of his body. When I reached his left shoulder I made my way over his shoulder and stabbed his one eye out with my hunting knife causing it to cry bloody tears of pain. Since it was distracted I moved down toward its chest and stabbed its rib cage trying to get to the heart. The one time it really counted I missed. The Minotaur shook and I was flung into a pine tree yet again but this time with so much force at least twenty-five pinecones fell on top of my head and I think I had a concussion. There was no time to sit there and lay on the ground. It took a lot of strength but I stood up and climbed the Minotaur again but the time on his front side. When I reached its chest I stabbed it yet again and this time with success. The Minotaur turned to dust and I fell about fifteen feet expecting to land on the ground but instead I landed into a twelve year-old's arms.

"Hi, I'm Luke Castellan," the boy said.

"Thalia Grace, nice to meet you," I replied. After I spoke police sirens blared and Luke got this 'oh gods I need to get of here' look in his face.

"I've got to get going!" he exclaimed as he took off running toward my driveway. I didn't know what he was doing until I heard the sound of a car pulling away. Even if I was in the woods not knowing anything one thing was for sure, twelve year-old Luke Castellan had hotwired and high jacked Thalia-May Grace's Mercedes-Benz.


	2. Let's Just Say Blonde Hair is History

Chapter 2: Let's Just Say Blonde Hair is History

If my mom has ever hated me before she's really going to hate me now. The first person that my mom will suspect when she tries to find out who stole her car is me. Although I'm only ten my stepfather Rob taught me how to drive in his Dad's corn field. Anyway, before I got started on my journey my hair has got to come off! I have long blonde hair and electric blue eyes. I love my eyes but my hair is something that I've hated since first grade. For most of my life far I'd wanted short, spiky black hair with a few streaks of blue and today that dream was going to be a reality.

I looked off to the east and saw three quarters of a circle poking out of the trees. It was approximately 5:30 a.m. Since I lived in the city or whatever you want to call city in Maine a bus would be arriving at about 5:45. I knew that I would take the bus to Augusta and then get my hair cut and colored there then head of to where ever. I ran down my short driveway and crossed Main Street and sat at the bus stop bench. On cue the bus stopped and I got on.

"Where would you like to go Miss?" asked the bus driver as I hopped up the steps.

"Downtown Augusta, please," I responded.

"That's a hundred and five miles! That'll be twenty-five dollars please."

I pulled out a fifty and said, "Keep the change." I walked to the back of the small bus and sat in the last seat of the right side. I remembered my black duffle bags that I'd left in the driveway. Automatically, I stood up and walked to the front of the bus.

"Can I go back and get something?" I asked the driver.

"No!"

I pulled out a ten dollar bill and he opened the door. It was risky crossing the road without looking but I didn't get hit so whatever. I sped down my short driveway and picked up the two bags. The bus driver honked at me as I crossed the road again. I walked back to my seat and seen Luke Castellan sitting in my seat of the bus.

"LUKE CASTELLAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH MY MOTHER'S CAR!" I screamed. As I said it everyone looked at us and I sat down.

"Thalia Grace," he murmured in amazement.

"Alright, where is it?" I asked in my 'tell me now dead boy' tone.

"In a ditch," Luke murmured under his breath, trying to keep me from hearing him.

"IT'S IN A WHAT?" My voice was very loud and at this point I didn't care. "How in the Zeus's World did Thalia-May Grace's Mercedes end up a DITCH?"

"The police were chasing me and I kept driving really fast then I came to a dead end sign and I didn't want to hit it so I drove in a ditch then hopped out and fled from the scene." As Luke told me this story I kind of felt sorry for him. It seemed he had a tough life by looking in his bright blue eyes. We sat there in silence for the ride and when we reached Augusta I realized that as sad as it was to leave the boy who saved my life, Luke wasn't getting off.

"Bye Luke," I said, and then I added, "Take care." I reached down and kissed him on the cheek and then he was gone. I would never see his bright smiling face again. Part of me was sad leaving Luke. After all he did save me from being a grease spot in the middle of a forest. I'll admit that after I'd gotten off that bus two tears came out of my eyes. Quickly I wiped them away and tried to figure out why I was so sad. I'd talked to him twice in one morning and then I was crying over him. Strangely enough I'd had I strong feeling that it wasn't the last time I would see twelve year-old Luke Castellan.

I walked down the streets of Augusta looking for the hair salon. The sun was at the top of the sky so I assumed it was about noon. As I milled down the streets of Augusta I came to a small pink shop with a sign identifying it as Sally's Salon. It looked inviting so I opened the door and stepped inside. It was the absolute worst place I'd ever been to in my entire life. It had lavender walls and a few windows. Over the windows were the nastiest pink curtains I'd ever seen. For a punk-rock sort of girl it was their worst nightmare. There were six hair cutting stations, a hair dyeing station, and a nail painting station. A few middle schoolers were getting their nails painted. I shuddered and thought about my best friend who was girly like them.

"Hello and Welcome to Sally's Salon! I'm Sally and I'll be styling your hair today," said an upbeat hair stylist with a neon-blue tee shirt and a black apron with pink and purple streaks on it.

"Hi, I'm Thalia," I said, extending a hand. Sally took it firmly and we shook hands.

"How would you like your hair styled today, Miss?" Sally asked me hopefully.

"I want my hair to be cut above my ears and dyed black," I replied reluctantly.

"Okay, let's get started."

I followed Sally and sat down in a tall green chair at the end of the room. I leaned my head back over a bowl and Sally shampooed and conditioned it. She smiled as she worked which gave me the impression that she loved what she did. Sally weaved her hands in and out of my hair making sure it was all cleaned. She pulled down a big dryer and dried my hair for a few minutes.

"Thalia……….." her voice trailed off.

"What is it Sally?" I replied.

"Where are your parents at, Thalia?"

"I-I-I r-r-ran away," I muttered.

"Oh." We dropped the subject.

After my hair was dry Sally grabbed a pair of sliver handled scissors and started cutting. She was careful, holding and cutting each strand of hair gently and perfectly. I thought about how long I'd been growing out my hair. My mother loved long hair and I knew she would be disappointed if she'd known what I was doing. She would never know. I was two hours away from home and I would never get any closer.

"Thalia how short did you want your hair?" Sally's voice woke me up from my trance.

"Above my ears and by the way I'd like it spiked if you could do that," I replied.

"As you wish, what colors will we dye your hair?"

"I want black hair with blue streaks in the bangs."

She picked up a bottle with _beautifully black_written on it. She rubbed it in and grabbed something that looked like a straightener and put blue in my bangs. It dried and Sally turned me towards the mirror.

And then my long blonde hair was gone and I'd never been so disappointed in myself.


	3. The Long Journey Begins Sort Of

Chapter 3: The Long Journey Begins…. Sort of

After I was done Sally hugged me and gave me some food and money for the road and I headed off on my adventure. For my first stop on the tour I would be visiting my cousins in Long Island, New York. My cousins Alex and Kerrigan were my age and they were also my best friends. We'd been through a lot together and I knew they'd help me on my long journey. I dug around in my bag for some cash and came up with $15 and Sally had given me $10. I had $25, that wasn't enough to take a train to Long Island, much less New York. I thought about my bus ride in and decided to take a bus to from Augusta to Portland. Twenty-five dollars should be enough or so I'd hoped.

"HEY WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING, LITTLE GIRL!" called some man that I'd bumped into.

"Sorry," I apologized.

He left and I looked down in front of me and his wallet was sitting on the sidewalk. I looked to see if anyone was looking and then I snatched it up into my open hands. Immediately I opened it and there was $500 inside. Thank the gods, I had been saved by a random man on the street. I thought about what the man looked like. He'd been wearing a pin-striped suit and he had long gray hair with a matching mustache.

Zeus!

He'd known I was in trouble and he sent me some money. I looked in the secret pocket and found six golden drachma in it. Instantly I knew I needed to Iris message Luke Castellan. I grabbed a drachma and looked for an apartment complex. People milled down the streets and I followed hoping someone would walk to an apartment. Finally, a collage age woman went to an apartment complex and I went around the back and thank the gods, found a hose! I picked it up and threw a drachma into the water.

"O goddess, accept my offering."

The mist shimmered enough to make a faint rainbow.

"Show me Luke Castellan," I said, "Somewhere along the East Coast."

The goddess spoke, "Please deposit three more drachma to find Luke Castellan."

I tossed in some coins and an image of Luke sitting on a city bench appeared. His head was resting on the back of the bench and he appeared to be sleeping.

"Luke!" I called. He instantly woke up and I laughed.

"Thalia? What did you need and what did you do to your hair?" he asked and I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

"I cut it off and dyed it. Where are you?"

"A Long Island bus stop, where are you?"

"Augusta." I said, "Can you do me a favor?"  
"Of course, what do you need?"

"Since you're in Long Island can you look for Alex Mireles and Kerrigan Healy? There my cousins."

"Sure, I'll Iris message you later."

"Bye Luke and good luck." The image faded and I looked for a bus stop. I finally found one downtown and waited. While sitting there I'd realized that I'd left my bags on the other bus! I was such an idiot! A bus stopped and turns out it was the same bus driver.

"You again," he muttered in disbelief.

"You're the one that didn't go to collage!" I taunted. Then I added bubbly. "Do you have my bags?"

"In the back." I scurried to the back and sat down. Instantly I'd fallen asleep and my dream wasn't all that good.

In my dream there was a tall man in a twenty some year old Luke Castellan's body and he was standing next to a boy about sixteen with black hair and sea green eyes, like Poseidon. Next to the boy was a girl about the same age with curly blonde hair and grey eyes, like Athena. Luke's voice wasn't how it really was it was deeper and sinister like Kronos. The boy was holding a three foot Celestial bronze sword with the word 'Riptide' engraved on it. The girl had dropped a Celestial bronze knife and Luke/Kronos was asking for it.

Luke's voice broke through Kronos, "He's changing. Help. He's almost ready he won't need my body anymore!"

"The knife, Percy!" the blonde girl said to the younger boy, "Hero …. cursed blade …."

My eyes flew open. What was I dreaming? Luke becoming Kronos, how is that even possible? How could this happen… Luke EVIL? He'd saved my life there's no way he could be evil! I set the dream to the back of my mind and tried to focus on where I was. No one was on the bus and we were stopped. I stood up and walked to the front of the bus and asked the bus driver where we were. He said we were in Long Island.

"Could I get off please?" I asked.

"Sure, $50" he replied. I handed him the cash and stepped off the bus.

Finally, it was time for the real, real journey to begin.


	4. My First Encounter With the SheDevils

Chapter 4: My First Encounter with the She-Devils

Immediately after I stepped off the bus Luke Castellan's smiling face was in front of me. I smiled brightly and Luke grabbed my bags and we headed down 5th avenue. Then we arrived at a yellow house and two girls with dark brown hair and brown eyes scrambled out the glass door.

"THALIA!" the girls screamed and hugged me.

"Alex, Kerrigan I missed you guys so much!" I exclaimed.

"We missed you too Thalia!" We caught up about our lives and then Luke and I got to the point.

"Umm… you guys need to come on my adventure…." My voice trailed off.

"Totally, cuz, of course we'd go with you!" Alex exclaimed. We scouted out a plan and decided to head south towards Florida and hang out there for a while so we can be far away from Maine. We would figure out something from there. So, we were going to drive to give us some time. Luke and I would find somewhere to live until we either get found or killed.

"Where are we going to get a car?" Alex asked. I looked towards Luke.

"Umm…. Alex, Kerrigan, Thalia how opposed are you to grand theft auto?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"Let's do it!" We all exclaimed. Our hands all came together.

"On three," I said, "One… Two…. Three!" Our hands popped up, "FOR THE GODS!" we all screamed.

Alex and Kerrigan's parents arrived and Luke and I spent the night in the guest rooms. At one a.m. we all gathered outside and ran down the street to an eleven year-old's house. His name was Chris Rodriguez and he was a half-blood too. His older half-brother (non-demigod) Jerry had a Viper and we could steal it if Chris got to tag along.

That day "The Runaways" were started. The Runaways was our group name, Me, Luke Castellan, Alex Mireles, Kerrigan Healy, and Chris Rodriguez. Although we were all way too young Luke and I would take shifts driving. What most people don't know is that under aged demigods and satyrs are basically invisible when they are driving.

We knocked on the window of Chris Rodriguez's bedroom and he opened it and jumped out although it was two-story and he didn't land on our ladder.

"Hey guys," he said.

"I'm Thalia and this is Luke. You know my cousins, Alex and Kerrigan," I introduced Luke and myself to Chris.

"If were going to go we got to go now!" he said tensely.

Luke got in the front seat and I sat shotgun, Chris sat behind me, Alex sat behind Luke, and poor Kerrigan was stuck in the middle. Chris handed Luke the ring of keys and he started up the Viper. It roared to life and we sped down the lifeless streets of Long Island. We sped back towards the mainland of New York and were soon in New York City. The Viper had great speed and we were making great time until right in our path was a giant Manticore blowing spikes right in our path.

"Great!" I moaned.

It howled and Luke backed-up the Viper. We got out and I threw my spear at its head and it just bounced off and it clattered to the ground.

"FOR ZEUS!" I screamed and threw my spear yet again and this time it bounced off again but this time taking its eye with it. I heard stomping in the distance and thought another monster was coming.

The manticore froze. "This is not happening," it said.

A silver arrow passed the manticore's ear. He flew spikes right into the Viper which was now crushed. Another arrow whizzed in the air and hit the manticore right in the heart and he ran. The manticore ran to the Atlantic Ocean and didn't come back up.

Then I saw them.

There were about sixteen of them all either ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, or fourteen years old and they were all wearing silver cameo pants with white tee shirts and black leather jackets. They all had black solider boots and had silver bows with arrows in leather cases on their backs. Who did these girls think they were? The girl leading them was about twelve she had auburn hair in a ponytail and she had creepy yellow-silver eyes like the moon. She was beautiful. The girl behind her was about fourteen and she had copper skin, dark brown eyes to match her long dark hair braided. A silver circlet was braided into her long dark hair which made her look like a Persian Princess.

"We are the Hunters of Artemis and I am Lady Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt," said the girl in the front. I stared in amazement. How could this twelve year old girl be Artemis?

The dark haired girl stepped forward, "I am Zoë Nightshade, Daughter of the Titan Atlas. I am the Leader of the Hunters. Would any of girls like to join?"


	5. Luke Is Scarred For Life

Chapter 5: Luke Is Scarred for Life

I stood there speechless staring with my mouth on the ground staring in the dark brown eyes of Zoë Nightshade. Did the leader of the Huntresses really just ask me to join them? Quickly, I stopped staring and searched for words to say.

Instead of answering Zoë I said something real intelligent like, "Wh- Wh- WHAT?"

"Would thee like to join the Hunters of Artemis?" Zoë repeated.

"Maybe _thee _should learn some words from this millennium," I tested Zoë.

"I hate the English language! It changes too much," she muttered to herself.

"Zoë," Artemis broke in. "Maybe we should go."

"Lady Artemis, I think we should wait. I'm just getting started." Zoë said.

"So, Thalia would thy like to join?"

"What's in it for me?" I asked.

"Immortality, and some good stories to tell," Lady Artemis said.

"I would like to join." I said. All eyes were on me. Luke, Alex, Kerrigan, and Chris all looked straight at me. Their eyes were full of concern, I knew I shouldn't do it but I had too.

"Repeat after me," Zoë began, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I … I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis," I repeated.

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

I repeated the lines. "So is that it?"

"If Lady Artemis accepts then you are a Huntress."

"I …." Lady Artemis began, "do not accept."

"I knew you weren't good enough to be a Huntress, Thalia!" Zoë burst out.

"Zoë," I started calmly. "WHY DON'T YOU GO TO TARTARUS?"

After I spoke the ground seemed to crack in half. It cracked and shook. The Huntresses and all of us fell over.

"Alex, Kerrigan! Get back!" I screamed. They did as they were told.

"LUKE, CHRIS!" I called. They looked over and I threw them each a hunting knife. We all stood up and were being clouded by a giant seventy-five foot-tall bright red dragon.

The dragon was fierce. He whipped around and we all were flown backwards. Zoë, Artemis and the Huntresses all raised their bows, "For Artemis," they yelled. They let go and seventeen shiny silver arrows landed on the dragon. He took them out and yelped in pain. The arrows helped but they'd have to get about a hundred more if they were going to do any damage but the Hunters just kept at it. Zoë was definitely showing off now because she shot at least ten arrows a minute at the dragon.

Obviously, it was ten too many because he lifted up his foot and prepared to squash Zoë into a pancake.

"Zoë!" I screamed. Zoë was too scared to look at me or move. Although I hated the Huntresses I wasn't I stupid person.

My reflexes kicked in and I ran and pushed Zoë Nightshade out of the way of the dragon's foot. I had just conjured up my own fate. It was coming and I prepared for the worst. As the foot was about to collide with me I was struck by lightning but I wasn't shocked.

"Thalia-Lynn Maria Grace, Zeus has given you the power!" a voice said. Suddenly, time just shut down. Luke, Chris, Alex, Kerrigan, Zoë, Artemis, and the other Huntresses were all frozen solid with different expressions on their faces. They were all of fear, anger, and worry. I wasn't sure what it meant but I had lightning scars on my hands and I was glowing with power.

"Thalia, Zeus gave you his power!" Luke said. I could barley hear him before time started and the dragons foot squashed me.

The next thing I heard was the sound of Luke's voice, "Thalia! You went through the dragon's foot!"

I wasn't exactly sure what happened. I didn't remember anything. The only thing I knew was that Zoë, Artemis, the Hunters, and Chris were all fighting the dragon. There were some new people too. They all were about fifteen half-bloods in full Greek battle armor with shields and three foot long swords.

"Luke," I said, "Who are they?" I asked as I pointed at the demigods.

"Their campers from Camp Half-Blood," he said with distaste.

"Camp Half-Blood? What's that?" I asked.

"It's a camp for demigods, where we should be. At the camp a centaur, Chiron and the god Dionysus teach young demigods how to use their powers and how to fight monsters and stuff. My father, Hermes always wanted me to go there."

"Your father is Hermes, the God of travelers, thieves, and messages?"

"Yup," Luke popped his lips on the P.

"That's cool," I said

"No, Its not!" he responded. I dropped the subject.

Luke held out his hand and he helped me up. He tossed me two hunting knives which were mine, of course. The half-bloods from the camp had left but the dragon was still at full power. The dragon stepped towards Luke and me but he pushed me back. It whipped its red scaly thing it calls a tail and cut Luke from his eye down to his jaw.

"LUKE LOOK OUT!" I screamed. It whipped around again this time Luke was a little to close. When it came around it smacked Luke with so much power that he was thrown somewhere so far west I couldn't even see him.

"LUKE!" I screamed although I knew it was useless. My knees went weak and I fell onto the hard, cold pavement and wept. I knew my sobs were loud but I didn't care. The boy I'd pledged my love and sibling ship too. Luke was the first boy I'd ever actually cared about and then he was gone just like that. What kind of world is this?

"Thalia, it's almost dawn thy must get up," said a voice I would always know. It was Zoë Nightshade, "You've saved my life now I must repay you."

"What could you possibly give me that can make me feel better?" I choked out between sobs.

"I have a copy of Athena's shield. You know Aegis, the shield with Medusa's face on it. It's the strongest shield known to half-bloods," Zoë said quietly like she didn't want Artemis to hear. She reached in her arrow bag and pulled out a shining silver bracelet. Zoë grabbed my wrist and clipped the bracelet on my wrist where it would stay completely still for a lifetime.

"That's the shield?"

"Tap the charm on it," Zoë said matter-of-factly. I tapped it and the bracelet expanded into a giant shield with Medusa's face on it.

"Thanks, Zoë."


	6. I Meet Three Gods I Didn't Know Existed

Chapter 6: I Meet Three Gods That I Didn't Know Existed 

After I had pulled myself together Zoë and the Huntresses went away and Alex, Kerrigan, and Chris went home. So basically I was on my own. Or so I thought. I knew that I should've gone to Camp Half-Blood but no, I didn't did I? So, I was going to a hotel to stay until I could think out my plan. At four o'clock the next day I made reservations at Manhattan Island Hotel.

When I walked in I could tell that it was a god hotel. There was a giant stereo system in the corner with some people standing around it. The DJ was a god. He was in a thirteen year old's form and he had long, curly brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. The god wore a white hooded sweatshirt with gray designs on it. Next to him was another god in a form of a thirteen year old also. He had long blondish hair with blue eyes and a spray of freckles across his nose and he wore a black hooded sweatshirt with a green sign that represented some energy drink I'd never heard of. They were playing some rap song that made me want to pull my ears off. I walked over to them and they turned on a slow song and turned the volume low.

"Hey! What's up, I'm Sage, the God of DJs. And this is TJ the God of Partying," the curly haired one said.

"I'm Thalia Grace," I replied. I looked over and seen a girl with long brown hair and pretty blue eyes dancing like an idiot with her glasses falling off.

Sage noticed me looking at her, "That's Chelsie, the Goddess of Craziness and Weirdoes."

"Nice," I replied.

Sage and TJ looked through piles and piles of CDs, trying to find something that was just right. They looked towards me like they wanted me to make a suggestion. "Play something by Green Day," I suggested.

"Great choice, Thalia right?" TJ said.

"Yep, Thalia Grace." Since it was a party I decided to have a little fun. I walked over to the food table and waited for some boys my age to come by. Since I was only ten, no one came so I crashed on an orange cushiony couch that was in the party room. The dream I had that night was a continuation of my dream from when I was on the bus when I was going to meet Luke in Long Island.

The Kronos side of Luke was reaching for a half-steel, half-Celestial bronze curved sword. He picked it up but then the Luke side dropped it. The sixteen year old boy was holding his sword Riptide again. He raised it and prepared to strike Luke/Kronos.

"Please, Percy …" The Luke side of him said to the boy.

I bolted up on the couch. No one was there except for Sage and TJ sleeping on the other couches.

"Sage! TJ!" I yelled. They got up.

"What?" TJ muttered angrily.

"Err … Umm … Never mind," I struggled for words. I stood up and ran out the door to the hallway of Manhattan Island Hotel and sped out the front door. Well this really, really, really sucks! I have no friends, I'm a lone half-blood that monsters are just waiting to find and my parents have no idea where I am! I looked over a newsstand and see a news paper. Like most demigods I have dyslexia so it took me a few seconds to unscramble the words. In the end I seen it said something like _Ten year-old girl goes missing in Maine._Surprisingly enough they were talking about me, Thalia Grace who lived in Maine! This is New York for Zeus's sake! Why were they talking about me? I set that thought aside for the moment and thought about how I was going to survive this without someone to help me. Then it hit me! I would go to Camp Half-Blood and stay there until I can find out where Luke flew off to.

I knew Camp Half-Blood was somewhere deep in the forests of Long Island. How the Hades was I going to find a camp that most people in the world didn't know it existed? Well, I was just about to find that out. So, I walked along the back roads of Long Island and came to a deep forest. I walked into the deep woods and seen one thing I didn't have time for.

The Dragon!


	7. We Learn The Great Prophecy

Chapter 7: We Learn "The Great Prophecy"

Okay, so apparently the big red scaly thing of a dragon does not like half-bloods. As soon as it seen me pull out my Celestial bronze hunting knife it radiated some kind of strange light and I instantly passed out. While I was knocked out again, my dreams were not good, as usual.

In my dream all of the Olympians were sitting on their thrones in their true godly forms. They were all fifteen-feet tall and there thrones were even taller then them. In front of them were three half-bloods and a satyr. The first half-blood was standing at Poseidon's feet. He had jet-black hair and sea green eyes. It was the same boy in my past dreams but he was younger here. Sitting at Athena's feet was a girl with curly blonde hair and gray eyes. It was the girl from my past dreams as well. The third half-blood was really me but older. I was standing next to my father, Zeus's throne. Next to me kneeling down at my father's feet was the satyr. Apparently he was explaining some weirdo story or something like that. He had a black goatee, tons of acne, and brown goat legs.

I wasn't sure what was happening but Demeter, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Zeus, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, and Hermes all had their hands raised. Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, and Hera kept their hands down. Then I realized they were voting on whether to kill us or not.

"Thalia, you have to get up!" Luke Castellan's bright blue eyes were staring down at me.

"Luke Castellan," I murmured. Luke helped me up and I hugged him. "Luke, I- I thought you were dead."

"Nope, not yet anyway," he laughed.

"Where did you go?" I asked.

"I landed in Olympus. Somehow, I ended up on your father's throne and he almost blasted me to bits. Before he did Lady Hera threw me off of her husband's throne," he told me.

"Really, you sat on the Lord of the Sky's throne?"

"Yeah," he laughed again. I couldn't help but laugh too. I don't know if it was because we were both emotionally strung or what but we both fell over cracking up. I could've stayed there my whole life with Luke Castellan but a tall centaur came out through the borders of the camp.

"Who are you two?" the centaur said.

We stopped laughing and Luke said, "I'm Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes. And this is Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus."

"Did you say Daughter of _Zeus?_" the centaur couldn't believe what he heard. "You must come with me."

We followed the centaur into a big blue house. He turned to us and said "Thalia, I think you need to hear this."

"Wait a minute! Who are you and what is so special about Zeus being my father?"

"I am Chiron, Camp Half-Blood's activities director. After World War II a Great Prophecy was revealed and Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decided not to have anymore demigod children. You and Silena Jackson are the only ones we know about."

"Silena Jackson? Who is she?" I asked.

"Silena Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. She has a younger brother Percy Jackson. He never needed to come here like Silena so they never really knew each other. Selena used to get attacked by monsters and she couldn't fend them off. Sally sent her here when she was six so here she is five years later. Sally had Poseidon erase Percy's memory so he didn't know about this."

"That's so sad. You would think that his mother would at least tell him that he had an older sister." I wiped a tear from my cheek as I spoke. "Does Silena know about her brother, Percy?"

"Yes she does, and she misses him very much," Chiron wiped a tear from his cheek too. "She hasn't seen her family in many years. One day Percy will come and everything will be okay."  
"Anyway, what is this Prophecy you were talking about?"

Chiron explained how the Prophecy's worked and all that stuff.

"So, what's The Great Prophecy?" I asked.

"_A half-blood of the eldest gods,_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds,_

_And see the world in an endless sleep,_

_The hero's soul cursed blade shall reap,_

_A single choice shall end his days,_

_Olympus to preserve or raze."_

"Uh… is it me in the prophecy?" I asked.

"Umm… Thalia it says '…his days' It can't be you." Luke noticed.

"Luke, the prophecies aren't always certain. Why don't you two go stay in your cabins and you can get settled. I'm sure you'll like it here," Chiron said.


	8. I Enjoy Camp While Luke Wants To Get Out

Chapter 8: I Enjoy Camp While Luke Wants to Get Out

As Chiron lead Luke and I through the camp many of then other campers turned and stared at us. I guess they don't get new campers a lot. We came to twelve cabins in a U shape. They were all styled for each of the Olympian gods. At the head of the cabins were the Zeus and Hera cabins. On the right were the Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Dionysus cabins. On the left were the Poseidon, Ares, and Hephaestus, Apollo, and Hermes cabins. Chiron walked us to the Hermes cabin and Luke stepped in. I smiled at him and he disappeared into a pile of campers.

Chiron led me through the lines of cabins and we came to a giant 2-story cabin with no one in it.

"So, where is everyone?" I asked Chiron.

"This is the Zeus cabin and you are the only child of Zeus, Thalia Grace," he said.

I stepped inside and found my black duffle bags that I'd left back in the Viper were sitting on the floor next to a bunk. The cabin was breath taking. The walls with sky blue and there were paintings hung all over the walls. In the middle of the coffee table was a replica of Zeus's master lightning bolt. Chiron left me alone and it was getting late. I got on a bunk and instantly fell asleep.

A horn went off at seven thirty and I instantly woke up. A cabin counselor came by and handed me a schedule. Today was Friday so I looked at what I had to do today.

I had Breakfast, Ancient Greek, Cleaning Stables, Pegasus Riding, Greek Mythology, Lunch, Volleyball (something normal for once.), Firework making, Free Time, Dinner, Capture the Flag, and Campfire Sing-along. I trudged off to the dining pavilion and sat at the Zeus table.

I looked around and seen the individual tables. I guess this was mostly a summer camp because there were only about fourteen campers' total. The food was good here. You could never go wrong with eggs, pancakes, and bacon with milk and orange juice or if you could steal it from Dionysus, coffee.

I took time to look at the individual tables. First the Poseidon table. There she was, Silena Jackson. She had long, curly black hair and sea green eyes just like the boy in my dreams.

Then the Demeter table that had no one sitting there.

The Ares table, a girl and a boy. They both had brown hair and brown eyes. They were about fourteen and eight. Their nametags identified them as James White and Clarisse La Rue.

Next the Athena table, two girls with black hair and grey eyes both about twelve. Their nametags identified them as Kerri Hill and Torri-Lynn DeRace.

The Apollo table had a girl many, many years older than me, about seventeen or eighteen. She had hair as golden as the sun and piercing golden sunny eyes. Her nametag said Thaliana-Marie Chase.

The Hephaestus and Dionysus tables were empty.

The Aphrodite table had two girls and a boy all about fifteen. The girls had bleach blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky. The boy had normal blonde hair and brown eyes. They were Maria Skye, Kara James, and Ronnie Sullivan.

Last was the Hermes table. Luke was sitting there with twin boys about eight or nine years old. Sitting across from the table from the boys was a young girl; her name was Candi-May Carter. She had red hair – not orange! Red and I mean scarlet red – and violet eyes. Luke was making fun of her earlier when I'd walked past his cabin. I looked over at Luke, he was laughing about something stupid with the twin brothers. He seen me looking at he and I smiled.


	9. Zoe Nightshade Plays Capture the Flag

Chapter 9: Zoë Nightshade Plays Capture the Flag 

The rest of the day at Camp Half-Blood was pretty easy. I made fast friends with Silena Jackson and her friends, Torri-Lynn Grace and Thaliana-Marie Chase. At free time I talked to Luke and he said that he didn't have a good time and he wanted to leave. I protested and he said that we could stay for two weeks tops. I guess I was willing to go with anything considering I didn't want to lose Luke for real this time.

My first week at Camp Half-Blood went by quickly. Silena Jackson and I were great friends. She told me stories about when she was a baby and monsters attacked her and about her little brother Perseus – later I learned that Silena didn't like to call her brother Percy because Perseus was her favorite hero – and then I told her about my adventures with Luke. Silena, Luke, and I did just about everything together.

On the last day Luke and I were staying at Camp Half-Blood we played Capture the Flag – although Luke, Silena, and I were the only people that actually knew we were leaving. The red team was Me, Silena, Luke, the twin boys Luke was talking to – who later I learned were Travis and Connor Stoll – Candi-May Carter and Thaliana-Marie Chase. The blue team was Maria Skye, Donny Sullivan, Clarisse La Rue, Kerri Hill, and Torri-Lynn DeRace. Kara James and James White were hanging out together in the Ares cabin instead of playing Capture the Flag. We were just about to hide our flags when we were rudely interrupted by Artemis coming in and talking to Chiron.

"Blue Team, take off your blue helmets and go join the read team," Chiron ordered. When the blue team refused to do so he added, "That is an order."

"Who are we going against?" Ronnie Sullivan complained. As soon as he said it Zoë Nightshade appeared and put on a blue helmet.

"Thalia Grace, what are _you_ doing here, with _him_?" As soon as Zoë Nightshade looked around she automatically seen Luke and I. "And what are you doing with Silena Jackson?"

"Zoë, I see you've learned some real words for a change." Before Zoë could say anything I quickly looked towards Selena, ignoring Zoë's first comment. "You two know each other?"

"My father, Poseidon said that if I didn't want to come to Camp Half-Blood I could go with Zoë and the Huntresses. He had them meet me and I stayed with them for a few days then I realized I'd never get to see my brother, Perseus again. So, I decided to come here and wait for my brother to come here when he turns twelve," Silena explained.

"How sweet of you to do for your brother, Silena." I knew Silena was really nice but I had no idea how incredible the sacrifices she made for her family were.

"Who wants anything to do with male heroes anyway?" Zoë asked sarcastically.

"You know what, Zoë?" I got all up in her face and shocked her. Zoë immediately recoiled.

Chiron came up and said, "Thalia, Zoë. You two mustn't fight. For it is a waste of time."

"Okay, Chiron," Zoë and I said at the same time.

"Okay every! It's time to go –" Chiron was cut off.

"CAPTURE!" called the former blue team.

"THE!" called the original red team

"FLAG!" screamed the Huntresses. With that we all stood in our groups planning.

"Okay, I'm team captain," Ronnie Sullivan said.

I looked over at Silena. "How long has he been here?" I asked.

"About as long as me," she replied.

"Okay, Ronnie tells us what to do." I said to everyone.

"Thalia, Silena, and Luke go over and protect our flag. Torri-Lynn, Kerri, and Thaliana-Marie go block a fake path to psyche them out. Travis, Connor, and Candi you three go and find the Huntresses flag. Clarisse go and try to find the flag too. When one the group tells me you've found the flag Maria and I will go and grab it from behind the Huntresses."

"Sounds like a plan, Ronnie," Luke said. We all ran off the do what we were told. Luke, Silena, and I all ran to the flag which Maria and Ronnie put in the smack dab in the middle of the woods behind the Zeus cabin.

Silena, Luke, and I all sat in front of the tall red flag. We talked about camp and how Luke and I were going to bust out of this Zeus forsaken camp as Luke would call it. Suddenly we heard leaves crunching and twigs snapping quietly in the distance.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I don't know." Silena replied. We both pulled out our weapons. I pulled out my spear and Silena held up a bronze pen.

"Silena ……" I started. "Where did you get that pen?"

"You mean Riptide? I got it from my father, Poseidon. Originally, it was for my little brother, Perseus but I needed to fight monsters, not him so naturally it ended up in my hands." Silena said.

The crunching and snapping continued until Maria and Ronnie were in front of us holding the Huntresses blue flag. "W-w-we g-g-got it," Ronnie said between breaths.

"Yes! You got the Flag!" I exclaimed.

After I spoke Zoë Nightshade swiftly jumped out from behind a giant tree. "RONNIE SULLIVAN YOU GIVE ME BACK THAT FLAG RIGHT NOW OR I'LL STAB YOU WITH THIS ARROW!" Zoë yelled with a poisoned silver arrow in her hand. Ronnie waited to long to move. Zoë stabbed him right above his knee.

"Zoë! Why did you do that to him?" I asked her.

"All shall be fair in this stupid Camp Half-Blood!" Zoë replied. With that said she ran off back to her base.


	10. Zoe Nightshade Plays With Fire

Chapter 10: Zoë Nightshade Plays With Fire

"Zoë, I have there flag! Bring ours back to base!" called a Huntress from behind the Demeter cabin where the Huntresses obviously had their base at.

Zoë took off running and put her flag down behind the Demeter cabin. She sat down in front if her flag and pulled something out of her silver arrow bag. It was a pack of matches. Zoë stood up and lit the match as easily as opening a wrapper. She held the lit match and swiftly dropped it onto the blue flag.

The fabric burst into flames and soon was more of a brown flag than a blue one. Just as fast as Zoë lit the match the brown-blue flag toppled over and the grass on the roof of the Demeter cabin burst into flames.

Its one thing for a cabin to catch on fire but it's another thing to go and burn down a cabin when you don't even go to the camp!  
"Luke, go get Dionysus and Chiron." I said. Luke followed my order.

The Demeter cabin burned and burned. Zoë had gone way too far this time. When the Demeter cabin was just about done for a big burning ash flew and hit the Ares cabin, which too burst into flames.

"ZOE NIGHTSHADE, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TORCHED MY CABIN!" I turned around to see Clarisse La Rue screaming at Zoë.

Just when the fires were about dying down another giant burning ash flew from the Demeter cabin and onto the Poseidon cabin, which of course just _had _catch fire too.

Silena fell to the ground and wept. It reminded me of when I'd almost lost Luke to the dragon. "Th-That was m-m-m-my favorite place in Th-the w-world and n-n-now it's just g-g-gone. J-j-just like th-th-that." Silena tried to make a complete sentence while she sobbed.

I knelt down next to her and rubbed her back. "Everything's going to be okay, Silena. Chiron will rebuild your cabin."

"Yeah, you can feel better– your cabin isn't on the ground!" Silena tried to be mad be it just wasn't her nature.

I don't know if this was karma for leaving home or what it was but an ash flew from the Poseidon cabin onto my cabin but it didn't catch fire. Since it didn't Zoë re-lit the flag and threw it through the window next to my bed and my sheets caught fire.

"ZOE NIGHTSHADE!" called a deep rumbling voice. I turned around to see Dionysus, Chiron, and all the other campers including Luke.

"Yes, Chiron?" Zoë asked innocently although she was holding a box of matches.

"GET OUT OF HERE AND NEVER EVER, EVER COME BACK HERE EVER IN YOUR IMMORTAL LIFE OR I WILL HAVE YOU BLASTED TO BITS!" Chiron was very, very, VERY angry. With that said Zoë gathered up the Huntresses and tore out of there as fast as she could.

"Chiron, what are we going to do?" Silena asked once she stopped crying. Her eyes were red and puffy but no one asked her why she was crying considering the situation.

"First of all, was anyone in the cabins that didn't make it out?" Chiron asked.

Clarisse stepped forward. "James was in the Ares cabin with Kara."

"Clarisse, look through the burnt cabin to find them! Go now!" Chiron ordered.

The Ares cabin was the only cabin that didn't actually burn to the ground.

"Silena, Thalia, and Clarisse can sleep in the Hermes cabin until further notice," Chiron said.

"There DEAD!" Clarisse shouted from the cabin. Chiron ran over to get the bodies. 


	11. We Bust Out Of Camp

Chapter 11: We Bust Out Of Camp

I'd like to say the rest of that day went well, but then I'd be lying through my teeth. After the funeral Silena and I went to the Hermes cabin to see Luke, and also because we no longer had cabins.

"Luke, you in here?" I called.

Luke appeared next to me, "Hey Thalia, Silena." Silena blushed when he said her name. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," I said. "So, Silena are you coming with us or not?"

"I guess I should go with you guys." Selena thought for a moment. "Sure, I'll go."

"Good, we could use the extra help," Luke said.

"When are we leaving?" I asked.

Luke checked his watch. "It's ten right now, we'll leave at one."

"What about the harpies?" Silena asked. "Those things can eat our faces off."

"Oh, I took care of those." Luke muttered. "You two might want to sleep while you can, it's going to be a long night."

Silena and I didn't argue. We took an empty bunk in the corner and drifted off to sleep.

The next thing I knew Silena Jackson was leaning over me. She was trying to wake me up.

"Thalia Grace!" Silena said, her voice lower than a whisper. "Get up, we have to go."

"Where's … where's Luke?" I asked, barely awake.

"He's taking care of the harpies," she replied.

We walked out of the cabin quietly and we met Luke at the borders of camp. Quietly, he stepped out of the borders. Surprisingly a siren blared and the door to the Big House opened up. Chiron galloped out and yelled, "Get back here you accursed half-bloods!" Then he cursed in Ancient Greek. Luke took off running down Half-Blood Hill like a bullet flying out of a gun. Silena and I followed and we didn't stop until Half-Blood Hill was out of sight.

We ended up in the middle of a corn-field and we just sat there and said nothing, for a long time. Silena slept and so did Luke, but I didn't. For some reason I had the feeling a monster was coming and there wasn't really anything I could do but wait it out.

I don't remember falling asleep but I guess I did and I woke up to the sound of an earthquake. Wait a minute! This is New York, and I know for a fact that they do not have earthquakes, EVER.

Then in the dead silence, it was clear. The Dragon was back, Luke hadn't killed it. It just got tired and ran off.

I shook Luke's arm. "The Dragon's coming back!" I screamed.

He woke up quickly. "Oh my gods I knew it would eventually come back! Get Silena up, now!"

I went over to Silena and shook her arm. "Silena you have to get up!" I yelled. Nothing happened, not for a long while. Silena lay there motionless with no sign of getting up.

The dragon appeared and I was scared, gods was I scared. Scared for me, scared for and even for Silena. The dragon roared, it roared so loud I almost lost hearing in my left ear. The roar woke Silena up.

"Oh, Silena! Thank the gods you're awake!" I cried. "Come on we have to fight."

She pulled Riptide out and uncapped the ballpoint pen. It grew until it was a three-foot bronze sword. I pulled out my spear and we sprinted towards Luke and the Dragon. "Luke! You need some help?" I said.

"You bet I could," he laughed although this was no time to be laughing. I tried to stab the dragon but my spear just bounced off it's skin, which I learned was Celestial bronze.

"Luke, he's bronze! We can't fight him, he's a robot!" I screamed

"He has to have a switch, doesn't he?" Silena said.

"If he's like any other robot-monster I know his switch is right under his left foot. One of us has to go and hit the switch with our head and hope to make it out alive," Luke replied. "So, who's going in?"

"I will," Silena said. "I'll hit the switch."

"Silena, you can't you'll get killed!" I cried. Silena meant so much to me. Her and Luke were my only friends. I couldn't just let one of them die like that.

"I have to try, Thalia," she said. A tear ran down her cheek, I could tell she didn't want to do this but I knew she had to. Then she did something I will never, ever forget. She hugged me and said the most comforting words I ever heard in my entire life, "Thalia Maria Grace. You are truly my best friend in the whole entire world. These past two weeks have been the best in my life, thanks to you. I love you like a sister and I will never, ever forget you."

After she said it she ran off towards the dragon and waited for it to lift it's left foot. It did and she went under it and got crushed. I cried as the Dragon fell forward and we seen her dead body. "Thalia, I think you know what we need to do," Luke said.


	12. Sally Jackson Sees Her Dead Daughter

Chapter 12: Sally Jackson Sees Her Dead Daughter

The next morning Luke and I were outside a small apartment in Manhattan, hold Silena Chelsea Jackson in a coffin.

"Hello, I'm looking for Sally Jackson," Luke said to the manager.

"Room 133, on the fifth floor," the man said.

Luke and I went to the elevator and rode to the fifth floor. The whole time we had the coffin and no one noticed. We walked to the room and knocked on the door. A lady in a American-flag uniform came out.

"Are you Sally Jackson?" I asked. She looked stunned to see to kids wheeling a coffin to her apartment.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she asked. A little black-haired boy who looked just like Silena came to the door. Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon, he looked about five years old and he was so cute!

"Mommy, who's here?" Percy asked.

"Just a minute, Percy," Sally said. With that he ran off back into the apartment.

"Umm–" I started.

"Sally! Who is at the door?" called some old man. Mrs. Jackson didn't answer. With that she stepped out of the apartment and closed the door, joining us in the hallway. "Sorry about that."

"Um … I'm Thalia and this is Luke," I began. "And your daughter is in this coffin."

Mrs. Jackson looked lost, like she was thinking of the past. A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away. "Silena ... Silena Jackson?" she asked, like she couldn't believe she was gone.

"Yes, we were running away from camp and she got killed by a dragon," Luke said.

"Were you two friends of hers?" she asked softly.

"Yes we were, Silena was my best friend. We tried all we could to keep her safe Mrs. Jackson." I said.

Mrs. Jackson started to cry. "Percy never even got to see his sister."

"She told us all about him, she sure loved him," I said. "What do you want me to do with _it_?"

"I can't have it with me. My husband doesn't know I had more than one kid. Well I guess it's time he knows." she said. "Would you two like to come in for tea and cookies?"

"Yes, thank you," we said.

Luke, Mrs. Jackson, and I walked into the door. A fat, old, bald man came into view. "Who are these people?" he grumped.

"Friends of Silena." Mrs. Jackson replied.

"Who the heck is Silena?" he was confused.

"Honey, you know the camp Percy's supposed to go to, for his 'special needs'" she replied.

"You mean for being a half-whatever."

"Half-blood," she snapped.

"What's the difference?" he rolled his eyes.

"Never mind. Anyway, Percy isn't the only child I had with Poseidon."

"You mean you had a half-whatever daughter and you didn't tell me?" he screamed and then he did something that scarred me and Luke for the rest of our lives.

He. Hit. Her.

"Yes, Silena Chelsea Jackson. Before I married you she had to go to the camp, so I didn't tell you about her."

"So, what are these _children_ doing here?" he demanded.

"Silena was killed and they have the body here in this coffin," Sally said to Gabe.

"Why do they have the body? Did they kill her or what?" Gabe stared at us as he spoke. I secretly rolled my eyes. Like Luke and I would actually kill Silena Jackson!

"No! We would never do that sir, Silena got killed by a dragon and were there and we thought Mrs. Jackson would like her daughter's body!" Luke exclaimed.

"Oh, I see then." With that said Gabe left the room.

We had tea and cookies with Mrs. Sally Jackson until dark and she let us leave. She was nice and all but eventually Luke and I needed to get out. We left the coffin with her and then we took off.

By eight o'clock that night we were walking in Central Park and an old man with a black trench coat was following us. Luke and I tried to out run him but he was just to fast for us. When Luke and I went into the woods we turned around and he said, "Hello, half-bloods. I am Morpheus, God of Dreams and I am here to put you in a deep sleep!"

With a snap of his fingers we were out cold.


	13. Waking Up to Parenthood Sort of

**DISCLAIMER****: Most of this is Rick Riordan's Work Straight from TLO but I changed it a Little bit…**

Chapter 13: Waking Up to Parenthood…. Sort of

"Hello? Why you people sleeping?" said a small soft, princess like voice.

"Hello, I am Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus," I said.

"I am Maple-Leaf a wood nymph. Why were you sleeping for so long?"

"Morpheus put a spell on us."

"The bad god of dreams? I don't like him!" With that said Maple-Leaf was gone.

"LUKE CASTELLAN!" I screamed and Luke woke up.

"Where are we?" he asked. "How long did Morpheus knock us out for?"

I looked at the clock on my phone. I was stunned at the year. "Uhh … Luke it's been TWO YEARS!"

"I'm fourteen and you're twelve? Sweet, man."

"No, not sweet, we just lost two whole years off our lives, _man!_"

"Whatever, let's get out of the woods."

We walked out of the woods silently and walked the dark streets of Manhattan. It was late, really late. We walked to an airport and asked what fight was leaving next; we just wanted to get out of New York. The lady had said the next flight was to Virginia, right by the James River. Luke said that he had a nice place on the James River but I really didn't know what he was talking about.

We were there within a few hours and we were walking in the woods along the James River when we came to a clearing. I seen a little hut sort-of thing and turned to Luke, "Is this yours?"

"Yes, yes it is!" Luke replied matter-of-factly.

We walked over to it and I walked inside. It was a demigod's dream in there. There was a box of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. It was stocked with weapons and other medical supplies. "Wow, Luke I didn't know you were actually capable of doing something like this!" I exclaimed.

"Aww, Thalia you don't give me enough credit for anything!" Luke played me a round of sarcasm.

"Luke, let's go to the city and go buy some food. I'm starving! Can we get some cheeseburgers or something?"

"Sure, let's get going."

After we had, had our cheeseburgers we were walking around town when Luke thought he heard some noise coming from a dark alley. We walked towards an alley between two stores, one with a sign that read RICHMOND IRONWORKS. Luke and I crouched in the shadows. "Thalia, I think I heard something down there. Let's go," Luke said. He got his bronze knife out and I got my spear and I tapped Aegis, a gift from Zoë Nightshade.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Luke nodded. "Something is down here. I sense it."

A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. Luke and I crept forward.

Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Luke and I approached with our weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something were behind it.

I glanced at Luke. He counted silently: _One, two, three!_ He ripped away the tin, and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.

"Whoa!" Luke said.

The girl had tangled blonde hair and she was wearing flannel pajamas. She couldn't have been more than seven, but she would've brained Luke if he hadn't been so fast.

He grabbed her wrist, and the hammer skittered across the cement.

The little girl fought and kicked. "No more monsters! Go away!"

"It's okay!" Luke struggled to hold her. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

Reluctantly, I tapped Aegis and it shrank into a silver bracelet. "Hey, it's all right," I said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia and this is Luke."

"Monsters!"

"No," Luke promised. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them too."

Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and I with her intelligent gray eyes of hers. They reminded me of Torri's eyes back at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe this girl was a daughter of Athena.

"You're like me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "We're … well it's hard to explain but were monster fighters. Where's your family?"

"My family hates me," the girl said. "They don't want me. I ran away."

Luke and I locked eyes for a moment. We both related to the girl standing in front of us.

"What's your name, kiddo?" I asked her nicely.

"Annabeth, Annabeth Chase."

For some reason, Luke smiled. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth– you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Really, you could?"

"Oh, yeah." Luke turned his knife and offered a seven-year-old girl the handle. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. It works a lot better than a rusty ole hammer."

Most of the time I would slap Luke for handing a seven-year-old a knife but we were half-blood and it would be stupid not to have a weapon. Everyone knows when you're half-blood regular rules like that literally go out the window.

Annabeth gripped the hilt.

"Knives are only for the quickest and bravest fighters. That's why Thalia doesn't have one." Luke joked and I punched him playfully in the shoulder. "They don't have the reach or the power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife and I have a feeling that you, Annabeth Chase, are pretty clever."

Annabeth stared at Luke with adoration "I am, I'm very clever."

I grinned at Annabeth. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house up on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

"You're … not going to take me back to my family?" she said. "You promise?"

Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You are part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. Thalia and I are not going to fail you like your family did, Annabeth. Deal?"

"Deal!" Annabeth said happily.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go _home._" They way I said home mad Annabeth smile.


	14. Luke and I Realize Our True Feelings

Chapter 14: Luke and I Realize Our True Feelings

We reached our safe house by the first crack of dawn. Annabeth was tired and Luke had offered to carry her, which of course, I thought was hilarious! Luke never carried me. Well, I guess I weigh twice Annabeth's size.

When we arrived at the safe house Luke gave Annabeth some ambrosia and we got her some jeans and Luke's over-sized army jacket. You know, out of all the annoying little kids I've met if the world, Annabeth was by far my favorite. She just_ had_ to be a daughter of Athena, I mean really! She was always sprouting trivia and all that boring stuff, and she was just so smart. At first it was annoying but you kind of get used to that kind of stuff.

We spent the night in the safe house, with me as look out for the night. That morning we to a bus to Connecticut just to get out of Virginia and Luke said he had a safe house in Westport.

I was lookout again that night in Westport. Just my luck, I fell asleep and a giant _dracaena _showed up next to the safe house. A _dracaena _basically a snake woman.

"THALIA, you have to get up!" Luke was shaking my arm.

"Oh my gods! It's … a _dracaena!_" I exclaimed.

Luke ran over and started fighting it. He had almost stabbed it in the foot but I picked him up and _grabbed_ him! Annabeth and I ran over to save him.

"Luke!" I cried but it was useless, the _dracaena_ was going to kill him if I didn't do something quick. Then I did something really hasty, I jumped on the snake woman's back.

_Silena Jackson's POV_

I waited in the stupid line in the Underworld. It was seriously retarded. I walked up to Minos and he said, "Silena Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon."

Then I wasn't there anymore, I was now in the same place I'd lost Thalia and Luke. How could I lose them like that? How was I alive? Well, I was so I guess it doesn't matter.

_Thalia's POV_

"Thalia, no!" Luke screamed at me.

"Oh, Luke I had to and you know it! I can't just leave you here!" I yelled.

"Thalia get down and take Annabeth, I'll be fine! Just go!" he shot back.

"Luke jump, now!" I screamed.

Then he jumped. He landed on the ground and looked up at me on the snake woman's back. "Thalia, jump!" he screamed.

"I can't!"

I started climbing down the _dracaena _and it grabbed my leg in its mouth. I was now be dangled in the air by my leg.

Then something strange happened, I was free falling. I was falling about fifteen feet expecting to land on the ground but instead I landed into a fourteen-year-old's arms.

"Deja-Vu, right Luke?" I joked.

"Hi, I'm Luke Castellan," he said.

"Thalia Grace, nice to meet you," I replied.

It was just like the day we met, two years ago. I looked at my cell phone, it was exactly two years and then I didn't know him, now …

I was _in love _with Luke Castellan.

I looked up at him and whispered, "I love you."

Luke looked up, stunned. Then he looked down at me and said, "Exactly what I was thinking."

We stared into each other's eyes and I said, "Luke Castellan, kiss me."

He leaned down, still holding my and pressed his lips to mine. We were in love.

"Ew! Someone call Dr. Gross!" Annabeth piped up from behind a small tree.

Luke and I pulled away and he set me down. We started laughing and Annabeth looked at us strange, I guess it was just a Thaluke thing.


	15. Luke, Hermes, and May Castellan

Chapter 15: Luke, Hermes, and May Castellan

When Luke tried to put me down, I realized I couldn't stand up. At all. So, Luke carried me to the safe house to find it burned down! Who in Zeus's great world would do that to kids? Gods, people are so stupid these days!

In a matter of thirty seconds we were running through the woods with a wild boar chasing us. It was someone – more like something – that had torched our safe house. Luke led the way through the woods desperately trying to get to his house. Annabeth stayed close behind him stumbling all the while Luke grabbed her hand to catch her. I brought up the rear limping, with blood running down my leg. I had Aegis up trying to keep it back. We were all beat up and the wild boar didn't really help, at all.

"It's just a little farther!" Luke promised Annabeth. She stumbled again and Luke grabbed her hand and didn't let go this time. I kept limping and every step hurt but we had to out run the boar. Medusa's head kept the boar away but I could drop it any second.  
We scrambled to the end of the woods and we seen a white Colonial house in front of us – May Castellan's house.

"This is your house?" I said. "Luke, the way you talked about I thought it was a haunted mansion of some sort."

He laughed. "Yeah, Thalia I wish."

We were silent for a moment then Luke said, "All right. I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. You two wait here."

"Luke, are you sure?" I said. "You swore you'd never come back here if she catches you–"

"We have no choice!" he growled. "They burned our nearest safe house and we have to treat that leg wound."

"This is your house, Luke?" Annabeth had been so silent I almost forgot she was there.

"It _was_ my house," Luke mumbled. "Believe me, if this wasn't an emergency–"

"Is your mom really that horrible?" Annabeth asked. "Can we see her?"

"No!" Luke snapped. He made a deep growling sound in the back of his throat.

She shrank away from Luke. I knew exactly why, Luke was _never, ever_ mad at Annabeth and me.

"I'm sorry Annabeth," Luke apologized. "This house is a bad place for me." Excuses, excuses Luke.

A golden light flashed in the distance and we winced. The voice boomed like thunder: "Luke Castellan, You and your demigod friend should not have come!"

We ignored the voice and walked into May Castellan's Colonial home. As it turns out Hermes was in there with Ms. Castellan.

In the living room Luke and Lord Hermes stood two feet apart staring at each other. I sat at the kitchen table as Ms. Castellan treated my wound. Annabeth sat on the floor playing with a Medusa beanbag toy.

Hermes's face looked like liquid with all the candles around him. He was wearing winged Reeboks and a navy blue jogging suit, real formal for a god.

"Why show yourself now?" Luke demanded. His shoulders were _tense_, as if he expected a fight. "All these years I've been calling to you, praying you would show up, and nothing. You left me here with _her." _Luke pointed towards the kitchen like he couldn't bear to look at his own mother, much less say her name.

"Luke, do not dishonor her," Hermes warned. "Your mother did the best that she could. As for me, I could not interfere with your path. The children of the gods must find their own way."

"So it was for my own good. Growing up on the streets, fending for myself, fighting monsters."

"You're my son," Hermes said. "I knew you had the ability. When I was only a baby, I crawled from my own cradle and set out for–"

"Well, I'm not a god! Just once, you could have said something. You could've helped me when" –Luke took an unsteady breath. Quickly he lowered his voice so Annabeth and his mother could not hear but he knew I could. –"when she was having one of her _fits_, shaking me and saying crazy things about my fate. When I used to hide in the closet so she wouldn't find me with those glowing green eyes. Did you even _care_ that I was scared? Did you even know when I finally ran away?"

I ignored Luke and Hermes for moment. Ms. Castellan aimlessly poured Kool-Aid for Annabeth and me as she told us stories about Luke as a baby. They were a little bit disturbing. I rubbed my bandaged leg nervously. Annabeth held up a totally burnt cookie for Luke to see. She mouthed, _Can we go now?_

I turned back to the boys. "Luke I care very much," Hermes said slowly, "but gods must not interfere directly in mortal affairs. It is one of our Ancient Laws. Especially when your destiny …." His voice trailed off. He stared at the candles as if remembering something unpleasant.

"What?" Luke asked. "What about my destiny."

"You should not have come back," Hermes muttered. "It only upsets you both. However, I see that you are getting too old to on the run without help. I'll speak with Chiron at Camp Half-Blood and ask him to send a satyr to collect you."

"We're doing fine without your help," Luke growled. "Now, what were you saying about my destiny?"

The wings on Hermes's Reeboks fluttered restlessly. He studied his son like he was trying to memorize his face, and suddenly a cold feeling washed through me. I realized Hermes _knew_ what May Castellan's mutterings meant. I didn't know how but by looking at his face I was absolutely certain.

"My son," he said. "I'm the god of travelers, the god of roads. If I know anything I know you must walk your own path, even though it tears my heart."

"You don't love me."

"I promise I … I do love you. Go back to camp. I will see that you get a quest soon enough. Perhaps you can defeat the Hydra of steal the apples of Hesperides. You will get a chance to be a great hero before …"

"Before what?" Luke's voice was trembling now. "What did my mom see that made her like this? What's going to happen to me? If you love me, tell me!"

Hermes's expression tightened. "I cannot and you know that."

"Then you don't care!" Luke yelled. His voice finally loud enough that May and Annabeth heard it, not just me and Hermes. The talking at the table stopped.

"Luke?" Ms. Castellan called. "Is that you? Is my boy alright?"

Luke turned to hide his face but I could see the tears in his eyes. "I'm fine. I have a new family. I don't need either of you."

"I'm your father," Hermes insisted.

"A _father_ is supposed to be around. I've never even _met_ you. Thalia, Annabeth, come on! We're leaving.

"My boy don't go!" May Castellan called after us as we walked out the back door. "I have your lunch ready!"

Luke stormed out the door, Annabeth and I scrambled after him. Ms. Castellan tried to follow but Hermes held her back.


	16. Grover Underwood and A Cyclops

Chapter 16: Grover Underwood and A Cyclops

We ended up on the outskirts of town by midnight. We heard the clip-clop of hooves in the distance as we walked to the airport to wait. I was finally paranoid enough to look behind me.

"Luke! What is that … that thing?" I yelled.

Behind us was a half-man, half-goat thing. He had pale skin with a peach fuzz goatee. He was sweating like a hog through long, curly dark brown hair.

"He's a satyr. Probably the one Chiron sent for us." Luke muttered.

"Yes, I'm a satyr. I'm Grover Underwood, Junior Protector. And I'm looking for–" He paused to look at his paper, "–a Luke Castellan, Thalia Grace, and Annabeth Chase."

"I'm Luke." Luke extended a hand and Grover shook it.

"Thalia," I smiled.

"And you must be little Annabeth," Grover said in a sweet voice.

She laughed. "Yup."

In a matter of six hours we were on a plane to Brooklyn, New York. The plane ride was short and fun. We got off the plane quickly, considering we'd lost my black bags a long time ago, back in Camp Half-Blood in the Zeus cabin. And Luke's stuff had burned in the safe houses.

When we left the airport it was about 10 a.m. We walked along the narrow sidewalk looking for a place to eat. We came to a McDonald's and went inside. We got cheeseburgers and went to sit down.

As we ate Annabeth kept complaining that the old man behind us was staring at us.

"Annabeth stop! He's just an old man!" Luke exclaimed.

"Luke! She's just a kid, lighten up," I scolded.

Grover on the other hand was looking even more scared than Annabeth. He was staring at the man while he was shaking and sweating like a pig.

"Uhh, Grover are you okay, man?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "Yeah I'm f-fine."

"Are you sure?" I pressed.

That shut him up. He straightened up and wiped sweat from his head.

After we finished we walked out and the man followed us out. We tried to out run him by running through the woods but he kept up fast.

"STOP!" The man yelled. We turned and he was then a Cyclops.

"Oh. My. Freaking Gods! RUN!" I screamed.

The Cyclops was about nine feet tall. It was one misshapen Cyclops too. He tall and brown with red beady eyes. He chased us with astounding speed, gaining on us with each long stride.

Up ahead was a vacant house that looked like it hadn't been used in decades. I pointed towards the building and yelled "Go in the building, guys!" Just as I yelled behind us the three Furies and five hellhounds became running through the woods. We were in deep trouble.

We continued to run until we reached the old house with The Furies, hellhounds, and the Cyclops on our backs. The Cyclops followed us into the vacant house and we all split up.


	17. The Lair of An Impersonating Cyclops

Chapter 17: The Lair of the Impersonating Cyclops

I sprinted down the left hallway of the house into the main room. The good news was that it was tall, elegant room with pastel curtains and sky blue walls. The bad news was that the Cyclops was there, with gags and ropes. He didn't notice me until the fading cadet blue streak in my hair counteracted the light and he seen a blue flash and turned around. I ran down the hall and he didn't bother chasing me. I started looking around for Annabeth who was probably freaking out at this very moment.

"Annabeth! Luke! Grover! Where are you?" I called.

"Thalia! Help, I'm in the main room!" Luke called to me.

I ran down the hallway running to save Luke. "Luke! I'm coming, are you okay?"

"Hurry! He's got me!"

I made it to the main room and realized the Cyclops could sound like anyone he wanted to. He grabbed and tied me up. A gag went in my mouth and he put me on the wall.

_Luke's POV_

I ran through the maze of corridors looking for Thalia, Annabeth and Grover. It was impossible!

"Thalia! Annabeth! Grover! Are you guys alive and okay?" I called.

"Luke! Help, I'm in a bedroom down the right hall!" Annabeth called.

I found the door we had entered through and ran down the right hallway. The room I ended up in must've been a little girl's room. It had a big closet from where I heard Annabeth call, "Help! Luke open the door!"

I stumbled with the door then it opened and the Cyclops was there. He grabbed me and tied my legs and arms up. He put a gag in my mouth and ran down the hall to the main room. In the main room he tied me up on the wall with Thalia.

_Grover's POV_

I ran as fast my satyr legs would carry me. Clip-clop, Clip-clop. I thought I would be the first to get eaten considering my hooves made the loudest noise in the house. My hooves trudged on down the endless maze of corridors.

"Is anybody out there? Baah-ha-ha!" I called out down the hallway.

"Grover! Help, I'm in the main room!" Thalia called out.

"Grover! Help, I'm stuck in a closet! Help!" Annabeth screamed.

Oh, no. What to do? Annabeth was younger and scared. Thalia was the only one Chiron told me to save.

Annabeth was banging on the closet next to me and I let her out. I ignored her and sprinted to save Thalia.

_Annabeth's POV_

I ran out of the small closet and sprinted down the hallway. I ended up in the main room to find Thalia, Luke, and Grover in gags and ropes. He was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I pulled out my knife and he seen me.

For some creepy reason, he knew my father's voice. "Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you and you can stay here with me forever."

One thing I hate about ADHD, it makes you impulsive. I grabbed my knife and stabbed him in the foot. He screeched in pain and I grabbed Thalia. I cut the ropes on her arms and hands.

"Annabeth, you saved my life," she said.

_Thalia's POV_

I freed everyone else and we ran outside and ran from the Furies and hellhounds waiting for us.


	18. The End of Me, Pine Tree Grace

Chapter 18: The End of Me, Pine Tree Grace

We sprinted through town to the Brooklyn bridge, trying to get to Long Island. We crossed the bridge, the monsters gaining on us.

Grover pointed to a forest close by. "That's close to the border of Manhattan and Long Island and Camp Half-Blood is on it, in the middle of the forest."

"Okay, We'll make it," Luke said.

We continued across the bridge and onto a field. The forest was just a few feet ahead, when a Fury grabbed Grover.

"Grover!" I screamed. The Fury threw him in the forest and we followed him. We were going to pick him up but he was already running ahead. The four of us made it to the magical borders of a camp I dreaded.

"You guys go ahead, I'll handle the monsters," I said to them.

"Thalia, we all have to go!" Grover insisted.

"I'll be fine, just go get Chiron." I persisted.

He knew he wouldn't be changing my mind. So, they left and the monsters showed up. A Fury grabbed me and put me on one of the hellhound's back. I kicked and fought and tried to get to my weapons but I couldn't.

The hellhound ripped me to shreds.

_Luke's POV_

"She was right here, Chiron," I said as we walked to get Thalia.

"Oh my Gods! She's gone!" Annabeth exclaimed.

I looked around and noticed a new pine tree by the border. There was a note attached.

"_Dear Chiron and Half-Bloods,_

_Poor Thalia was killed by the hellhound's giant bite. I took her spirit and changed her into a pine tree to protect the camp._

_Zeus." _


End file.
